The lawsuit, first filed last June, takes Sony to task for failing to protect users' information using industry standard practices, which exposed those users to undue risk of identity theft and fraud. Though the core PSN service is free, the lawsuit also sought restitution for lost access to paid services such as Netflix, MLB.tv, and NHL Gamecenter, which were unavailable through the PS3 while PSN was down for over a month following the hacking incident.

But district judge Anthony J. Battaglia's ruling [PDF via courthouse News] rejected most of the plaintiffs' arguments, saying, in essence, that Sony never promised their service would be perfect. In fact, the ruling specifically cites a clause in PSN's privacy policy warning users that "there is no such thing as perfect security" and "we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information transmitted to us through [the PSN]," obviating the suit's claim that Sony misled consumers or committed fraud itself.

Judge Battaglia also notes that Sony's terms of service clearly state that "no warranty is given about the quality, functionality, availability, or performance of Sony Online Services, or any content or service offered on or through Sony Online Services." Thus, the company was under no obligation to provide "continuous and uninterrupted service to either the PSN or prepaid third-party services." Furthermore, the plaintiffs were unable to prove any specific harm of identity theft or personal fraud stemming directly from the data breach.

While the plaintiffs will have until November 9 to amend a number of their complaints, the ruling effectively guts the most salient arguments against Sony in the matter. Ultimately, this should protect the company from any further damages from the hacking incident.

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Kyle Orland
Kyle is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, specializing in video game hardware and software. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He is based in the Washington, DC area. Emailkyle.orland@arstechnica.com//Twitter@KyleOrl